Soulmates
by Sable-Reiver
Summary: A collection of stories in different universes where Soulmates and Fate are a large part of society. Morgan/Reid
1. TiMER

It's frankly ridiculous, Spencer thought while he stared at the device in his arm. The idea that science and math and all things logic could help point you to the ever illogical idea of a Soulmate. Still, at age 15 when all the kids in his college classes mocked him and shoved him in the hallways, he couldn't help but think that maybe the idea that his soulmate exists is enough to help him cope with the pain.

Spencer is now 20 years old and working with the FBI as a profiler. He's a certifiable genius and has helped solve many a case with his co-workers-turned-family. Spencer thinks his life is good. He is also unreasonably upset that his TiMer is still blank and that his 'soulmate' could have shown up a little sooner. Still it can help prove that he's right, that science and love don't mix the way that they should. Science is logical and love is not. At least, that's what he's heard.

Still. If he can beat science, what can't he beat? When JJ calls them into the office he hopes this killer is not the answer to his question.

Working at Quantico has made Spencer's time fly, he realizes the week before his 25th birthday. It has also brought him one Derek Morgan. For that simple reason he is grossly glad that his 'One' decided to leave him hanging and that he could fall in love with this insanely kind man instead.

That's what Spencer decided, anyway, was that he was in love with Morgan; that butterflies would flare up and that he would rather spend an evening doing paperwork with Morgan than going home and quoting Star Trek to his TV.

He may or may not be ridiculously happy that Morgan does not have a TiMer.

Spencer doesn't like to talk about his TiMer, he wears long sleeved shirts and blazers to hide it and at this point in his life he barely spares it a thought these days. Then Morgan asks the one day it's too hot for him to wear anything more than a button up with the sleeves rolled up and Spencer can't seem to not answer him.

"My mom swears by them so when I was eligible she made it happen." Morgan doesn't say anything for a moment and Spencer is torn between talking further or waiting for Morgan's response. He does what he's always done: turn the conversation away form himself. "Why don't you have one?"

Morgan shifts where he's sitting on Spencer's desk as though he's nervous even though Spencer has seen Morgan do everything from stare down a gun to dance with two girls at a bar and he knows for a fact that Derek Morgan simply does not _do_ nervous. "Life is about detours and I can't believe in something that says I'm not allowed to take detours."

Spencer isn't to sure what to say because the TiMer has personally made his earlier years a hell-ish void but he knows, statistically, that the TiMer does work. It's a little disconcerting that this might be the first time in Spencer's life that science and his personal feelings have ever crossed in such a way. Spencer doesn't know what to do so he simply starts speaking again. "I mean, I know my TiMer is pretty much not worth having because Science has determined that my _Soulmate_ doesn't exist so I'm probably getting it removed."

And while Spencer doesn't know why he decided, out of all the things he could say, that he would say that, he does decide that, for a genius, he's also an idiot because _removing the TiMer_ is a viable option and it's the best idea he's ever had. No restrictions, free to be with Morgan without the impending thought of a Soulmate coming into his life. _Detours_.

Morgan is still silent but is now looking at Spencer as if he's lost his mind. "That's a big step, kid. You can't get one again if you do."

But Spencer is grinning now because _that's perfect_ and he's so giddy and light that he nods at Morgan's worried face. "Do you want to get dinner this evening?"

And suddenly the world falls out from under Spencer because asking Morgan on a date was not part of his plan for today or until he was 100% sure that Morgan felt even remotely the same towards him.

Getting off the desk Morgan shakes his head. "Not tonight, Pretty boy. I've got other plans." And even though he's smiling Spencer is pretty sure that Morgan is sad for some reason and Spencer cannot fathom what it could be.

By some miracle Spencer's local TiMer facility has an appointment open that evening and he's too excited not to take it. When he's face to face with the Matchmaker and her manager Spencer feels like a teen again, unknown faces leaning over him to change his life.

The manager is telling him about why they discourage Removals but Spencer knows already, remembers from when he signed the agreement when he was 13, and is too lost in the feeling of that nostalgic lanky, clumsiness that he used to have.

"Just do it." Spencer cut's him off, and he's not usually so curt but it feels like his stomach is going to burst with anticipation if they wait any longer.

They set up the device and as it hovers over his wrist a sound starts echoing through the little clinic-like room. The Matchmakers make a happy sound and pull the device away only for their faces to fall. Spencer knows that sound, has heard it for the past five years of his life and knows that he's being called away on a mission.

Spencer sits up and answers the phone from the pocket right by his TiMer'd wrist. Wheels up in 30.

As he goes to get out of the reclined chair, Spencer opens his mouth to tell them he'll reschedule but a similar sound to his phone chimes through the air cutting him off.

His brow furrows. "What is that?"

The Matchmakers grin in a way that looks unnatural, the same way that everyone who works for the TiMer company does. "That's your TiMer! That means that somewhere your Soulmate just got their very own TiMer!"

Spencer looks to his wrist, both employee's crowding his space to do the same. "That's not right." And trust his luck that his TiMer, when it finally get's the chance to function, can't even seem to do that properly. After all this time, and he can't get a moment of satisfaction. His TiMer showing only a series of zeros where there had once been unassuming dashes.

"I have to go." Is all Spencer can say, his brain on autopilot, taking him back to work and to his to-go bag and to the case beyond, mind occupied with his asshole of a One who has just ruined his life and his victory over science.

Spencer spends the plane ride unable to sleep and drowning out all sounds with his headphones. He can't concentrate on anything and it's driving Spencer mad. He flips through the case file once more and still can't seem to remember all the important details he needs to. His sleepless trend continues when they get to the hotel that night and he storms his way through his night routine and knows that, when they get a moment, someone will come and talk to him about how he hasn't so much as _looked _at anyone yet. Reid kind of hates his life. He hates the TiMer more.

It isn't until he's waking up to someone knocking at his door that Spencer even realized that he had fallen asleep. He climbs out of the bed and sees Morgan shuffling out in the hall when he looks through the peephole.

He opens the door, curious and also dejectedly. "Hey." He greets, unable to turn his best friend away no matter the situation. Morgan looks up to answer but a sudden chime cuts him off, much like what happened to Spencer what seems like an eternity ago.

The sound comes from both of them and they both look to their wrist that's glowing brightly and blinking furiously at them. Spencer can't seem to breath.

"It is working." Morgan says, his grin bright as he looks back to Spencer.

"I can't believe you got one." Is all that comes out of Reid's ungrateful mouth. "What about detours?"

"Took them. If you're the main road though, I'd rather do without."

And Spencer shakes his head because that is too corny, even for a world where Soulmates exist and where Morgan apparently loves him back. "This is exceptionally poor timing."

Morgan nods, smile still on his face that Spencer can feel himself reciprocating. "When we bring this guy in do you want to go back to Quantico and I can take you up on that dinner offer?"

Spencer can't believe this is his life but nods anyway. "Would you like to come in now?" he offers because he would honestly like nothing better.

"I'd like that."

And maybe Spencer didn't actually beat science, but he thinks, as he closes the door behind Morgan, that his consolation prize is better.

* * *

**A/N:** Obviously loosely based in the same universe as the TiMer movie. I suggest watching it if you have not seen it. I also could not see a way out of this without it being ridiculously cheesy so I went with it.

**Edit: **A couple people have come to me a little confused about this universe and because I don't have two hours to fill you in here's the essence of it. Everything in this universe is the same as real life except science has made a revolutionary breakthrough where by charting chemical levels in a person with a device (the TiMer) they are able to determine the day in which you meet your Soulmate and, when your eyes meet, it lets you know that's the person (through the new surge in chemicals). Obviously there is no law in place stating that you have to get a TiMer so there are those with blank TiMers because their Soulmate has yet to get one and, thus, they cannot be matched together in the TiMer database. There are other things to consider such as not having to get together with your Soulmate because all the TiMer does is tell you it's them, nothing more, but if you want to get more into that I suggest the movie.

I suggest the movie anyway it's great and shows you a very human and imperfect view of the universe.

Hope that helped!

Thanks for all the positive feedback. I have another chapter almost finished so that should be up fairly soon!

-_Reiver_


	2. Countdown

Spencer is very happy with his life as a whole; good job, good apartment, and good friends. The worst part about his life, if he had to pick one, would be the worst part of everybodies life: The Clock.

At birth everyone s born with a Clock on their wrist that counts down to the very second you meet the love of your life. A green beacon showing you a time that's perpetually counting down to what is supposed to be the biggest moment in a person's life. And he hates every new second more than the last.

His best friend JJ who happily zeroed out years ago always tells him that there's a reason for the time on his wrist and that the person he meets may not be the person he wants, but will be the person he needs.

Spencer responds by listing the things that a person actually needs in order to survive until she ruffles his hair and changes the topic.

The fact that that's the conversation on his mind as his Clock ticks down the last couple of minutes as he's being held hostage in the middle of a bank can't be a good sign for his sanity. There are four robbers in the room with him, two of them keeping an eye on the group of civilians, but by their hushed conversations into earpieces he knows there are more.

Really, Spencer just wanted to get home before he zeroed out but the world, fate, destiny, or chance had decided that he needed a little more excitement in his life and now he couldn't help but think that the way it wants him to get that excitement is by gluing him together with a criminal.

He's getting jittery and Spencer just wants everything to be over with so he won't have to deal with his 'One' or the police but, of course, there are complications and the idea of home seems to just float further and further out of his reach.

"What do you mean he's not even a hostage negotiator?" the robber is hushed by one of his masked accomplices and that's when Spencer realizes that the complications have nothing to do with the bank's security, the police are trying to mount a rescue.

Spencer wonders if maybe death is his Soulmate and that's what the bane of his existence has been counting down to this whole time. Could one's destiny be death? He's dragged out of his thoughts by a gun to his head.

"You. Up." His hypothesis might just be a theory now.

He doesn't want to die but Spencer would rather he be the one dragged out of his place on the floor than anyone else, their eyes are filled with pity, and he'd honestly rather the terror and adrenaline. He's a genius who went to public school he's used to suspense before pain.

They use him as a shield to look out the window before pulling him back towards the desk. "They don't exactly look like they're preparing to give in."

"They don't look like they're about to attack either."

Spencer isn't sure they understand the implications of talking about this in front of a hostage, especially when they're in the middle of negotiating.

"But there's that cop in the building. We're showing them we mean business."

A third man comes down and collects him, leading him up to the roof painfully slow. It seems that they're done negotiating nicely.

"So what's in this bank that's attracted such clever thieves?" he's always wanted to instigate a villain's monologue.

The man laughs. "Why would I tell you?"

Spencer shrugs trying to appear even more submissive than he already looks. "So I can know why I'm about to be tossed off the roof."

The man contemplates this but shakes his head. "Why are we clever?" he says instead.

It's obvious to Spencer what kind of people these guys are: aggressive, narcissistic. They're a group of Alpha's run by the most intelligent and most powerful of them and the best way to get them to talk is to pander to their narcissistic personalities, so that's what he does, talking about how only smart criminals would be setup and functioning the way they are and how if they were there only for the money in the vault they would be long gone now.

They're at the door to the roof by the time Spencer stops praising them and he hates that he's done it, talking them up as if he idolizes them. It's really the opposite, he's reminded again of the way he was bullied in school and he feels the need to hit one of these jerks who thinks that they can cheat the system.

The man is doing everything in his power not to preen under the compliments and doesn't open the door. He looks down the stairs and back at the landing behind them before opening his mouth.

Spencer checks his wrist, the numbers, as they run out, slowly feeling like they're heating up his skin and making him feel mildly light headed. For a moment he's sure he's going to pass out and he won't have to worry about buying five more minutes because dying five minutes from now is better than dying right now but dying while he's out cold may just be the most embarrassing thing he's ever done. He doesn't pass out but the man is talking, something about the bank being a front and housing a secret vault with more than your average lock, and he kind of wishes he had so he wouldn't have to hear it. It's all senseless in the long run and the answer isn't good enough for the terror he's inflicted on the people downstairs.

He catches a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of his eye on the landing, but makes an effort not to chase it. If it's the police the man in front of him doesn't need a tip off. "-so you see it's nothing personal."

The thieve all but shoves him into the wall so he can get past and start shuffling through his keys to find the copy he was given.

Spencer worms his way a little further from the man as he tries to twist through his keys without letting go of his gun but finds a hand over his mouth and hears the cock of a second gun. His wrist is on fire and his head is spinning as the criminal whips around gun only partially at the ready but the newcomer has already let go of Spencer, shoving his gun into the gut of the criminal and whispering angrily as he twists the wrist of the thief until the gun drops onto the stairs.

The crook gives up easily after that and they manage to sneak down to the landing where there is a small but well armed infantry team waiting. They cuff the thief and it all seems suspiciously easy. Spencer feels the urge to say something but when he looks at the man who saved him to do just that he's struck for a moment at how uncannily attractive he is. The pause that makes gives the man all the room he needs to start speaking.

"My name is Derek Morgan," he's holding out his hand and on reflex Spencer shakes it and he feels quite a bit better when their hands touch. "and I think I'm your Soulmate." He flips their hands to his zeroed out wrist and Spencer immediately flips it the other way to see that his own has done the same even though he knows that roughly the right amount of time has passed for him to zero out.

Derek drops their hands. "The other hostages are downstairs under our guard. Rossi, care to escort both our friends back down?" He turns to Spencer "Take care, pretty boy." Before he goes to move with the rest of his squad and Spencer realizes that he never gave Derek his name in return.

"Spencer. Well. Spencer Reid." He informs.

The grin Spencer receives from the other makes him want to return it despite the situation. "See you soon, Reid."

When all the hostages are safe and checked over and the thieves are being taken into custody, those who aren't - being pursued, Spencer finds himself waiting. He's getting glances from the police who are wondering what he's still doing in such a hot zone when most of the other civilians have been interviewed and are on their way home. Still he stays silent until he sees the last of the infiltration team leave the building. Then he starts to ask questions.

Spencer pulls aside anyone who looks like they might have information and asks question after question about the one man miracle known only as Derek Morgan. No one seems to know anything of import until Rossi, the man who had led him back to the other hostages, points behind him to where Derek is walking through the crowd, smiling as he talks on a cell phone.

"Talk to you later, baby girl." He hangs up as he gets closer to the two and Spencer turns fully to face the man. "Hey, you stayed."

And Spencer wants to say 'Of course' because how else were they supposed to ever see each other again without stalking or highly unlikely happenstance? It only made sense. He doesn't say any of this instead he just nods and is vaguely aware of Rossi taking his leave.

"Were you hurt?" Derek asks, taking in the shock blanket that Spencer kind of hates.

"No, but it helped people not shoo me away from the scene."

Derek grins like Spencer told him a joke, which is not the way he's used to people responding to him. "Do you have a phone?"

They exchange numbers and Spencer is stuck thinking that it's both supposed to be both easier and harder than it is but then Derek is looping a whistle around his neck and saying. "If you need help, all you have to do is blow."

Derek has been stuck for an hour trying to figure out what's gone wrong with the coffee machine, he's tried all of the quirks to his old percolator and nothing seems to be coaxing it to life again. Virtually useless without a morning cup of coffee, he rips the plug out of the wall and waits impatiently for a minute to pass before he plugs it back in.

A few seconds away from tossing the whole machine onto the ground after he plugs it in, Derek hears the click to his front door and turns to see Spencer walking through, dressed and awake and holding two cups of coffee from the café around the corner. He sees Derek glowering in the kitchen and walks over to the older man.

It's been six months since their countdown finished but it feels like they've known each other for years, and just the site of Spencer is enough to calm him slightly. The genius closes the distance between them, pressing the warm cup into his hand while he leans up and kisses him softly.

"Morning."

In response Derek grumbles something akin to a greeting and takes a sip of his coffee, it's just the way he likes it, not that he expected anything less, but it's still a surprise that the man before him is nothing less than remarkable.

Spencer looks down and sees the coffee machine on the edge of the counter with the cord lying out of its socket. "Need some help?"

Derek hops up on the counter as Spencer looks over the machine with his long fingers like. "I don't know what's wrong with it." He confesses, betrayed by his most beloved appliance.

Obtaining a screwdriver and easing the bottom off of the machine Spencer gets to work, seemingly doing very little to actually fix the machine, yet he sets it down barely a minute later and plugs it in. The traitorous coffee maker gurgles to life and a self-satisfied smirk settles on Spencer's face.

Finding himself torn between asking how Spencer did that and just kissing the genius silly, Derek opens his mouth to say _something_ but before he can Spencer casually tosses him something before practically swaggering out of the kitchen.

Derek looks down to see the whistle he gave to Spencer when they met and can't help but chuckle a little to himself. "Touché, kid."

* * *

**A/N: **Currently unbeta'd and I don't even think I'm happy with it, but Sable needed some _decent_ (if nothing else) BAU Boyfriends fic and I needed to supply. Hope you enjoyed anyway and that it at lease somewhat lived up to the first chapter :/

-_Reiver_


End file.
